In 2018, Microsoft started The Initiative studio. The idea was that it would be a prestige developer led by Darrell Gallagher, the man who rebooted Tomb Raider in 2013.
However, the reality is that the studio has not released a single game. In 2020, it was announced that they are working on a new Perfect Dark, but several big names have dropped out since then, and Crystal Dynamics stepped in as a partner to help complete the game in 2021.
And so far we haven’t heard any signs of life, and maybe it will be a while before we see anything. Well-known and credible journalist Jeff Grubb says in the latest Giant Bombcast (via Neogaf) that Perfect Dark probably has a long way to go before it can be released :
“The fallout from this (today’s layoffs), have been hearing more and more … have been hearing for years that Perfect Dark is in a tough state, sounds like it’s in a very tough state.
And it doesn’t sound like it’s really come together in any way since then (since the announcement) and that Crystal Dynamics is coming on board to help with that.”
Last June, Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty said we should expect to see Perfect Dark within 18 months, which means no later than December of this year. But if Grubb is right, this seems unlikely, and the question is how long Microsoft will be patient with this apparently very expensive project.
